Goodnight, Sweet Girl
by Jennifer Collins
Summary: Molly gets a baby doll for her birthday, and Jessie comforts her when she won't stop crying.
1. Chapter 1

One Saturday afternoon, the toys all clustered together in Andy's room. Molly's fifth birthday party was underway downstairs, and Andy was helping his mom entertain the children. Jessie sat cross-legged on the floor across from Buzz and Woody. There was a game board between them, but nobody was really playing.

Jessie wrung her hands nervously. "What if she gets somethin' really neat and doesn't wanna play with me anymore?" She wondered.

Buzz shook his head. "That won't happen." Woody guffawed. Buzz shot him a look.

"I'm sure it'll all work out," Woody said, lightly patting her hand.

But Jessie was still anxious. "Well even so. She'll be startin' school next month and then she'll forget all about me and Andy's gettin' older…" She bit her lip and looked back down at the game board.

Woody was silent. These were things the rest of the toys thought about too, but nobody wanted to say these thoughts out loud. He looked at Buzz, hoping that his friend would know the right thing to say.

"Let's not worry about anything now, Jess. The party will be breaking up soon and then we can find out about the presents," Buzz said soothingly.

"Yeah, besides, she probably got at least one good toy that would be cool to hang out with," Woody added.

"True," Buzz agreed. "Not every gift-giving event has to mean bad news. Sometimes it all works out," He said with a look in Woody's direction.

Jessie stood up. "How much time left until the party's over?"

"Too much," Woody said. "Now will you sit back down?"

Jessie shook her head. "I'm gonna go over to Molly's room and see what Bo's up to."

Woody sighed. "Alright, but be careful."

"Yup," Jessie said with a quick wave.

Once she was gone, Buzz regarded Woody with a look of concern. "Do you think she has anything to worry about?"

"Nah. Molly loves stealing Jessie from Andy! Besides, Andy's still interested and she does have us. If anything it's you who should be worried," Woody said.

"Me?"

"Yeah. What if Molly gets a great-looking boy doll to play house with Jessie?" Woody asked with a smirk.

"I hadn't thought of that…." Buzz said seriously, his eyebrows furrowed up.

Woody shook his head with a laugh and left Buzz to his thoughts as he got up to make the rounds. By the time he was finished reassuring all the other toys, the party was over and the last of Molly's friends had gone home. He motioned for Hamm and Slinky to listen by the door for any hints as to what toys Molly may have gotten as presents.

"Somebody's coming!" Hamm informed the toys.

"Everybody freeze!" Woody warned.

Just then, the door swung open and in bounded Andy, with his mom following close behind. "Since you were such a big help with the party, I'll take you out for ice cream if you want," Mrs. Davis told her son.

"Really? Just the three of us?" Andy said excitedly.

Mrs. Davis nodded. "You go get your jacket and I'll go get Molly."

"Alright! Thanks, Mom!" He ran to his closet and pulled out a jacket, shrugging it on as he raced out the door and down the stairs.

Woody couldn't help noticing that he hadn't asked his mom if he could bring any toys, but thankfully all the other toys just seemed to be preoccupied with finding out what Molly's presents were. "Okay, Buzz why don't you go?" Woody suggested.

"I wanna go too!" Rex shouted, eagerly waving his tiny arms.

"Alright so Rex and Buzz will go together and the rest of us will stay here," Woody said. He waited until he heard the front door downstairs close, then he moved over to the exit and ushered them out.

"Hurry up, you guys!" Mr. Potato Head urged.

Buzz walked across the hall and paused at the entrance to Molly's room. He motioned for Rex to follow him and the green dinosaur scampered happily across. Once inside, Buzz quickly found Jessie, who was already investigating the scene with Bo Peep.

"There's nothing but a bunch of stuffed animals," Bo said in awe, and Jessie's face lit up at the sight of the cute little critters.

"And some clothes," Buzz added, wrinkling his nose. "Don't these kids' parents know how to shop for a five year old?" He asked incredulously, although he was secretly grateful that there were no male dolls.

"Girly group music," Jessie muttered as she sifted through a few cds.

"Two new Barbies!" Rex said cheerfully.

Buzz's head snapped up. "Leave them in the box."

Jessie giggled. She quieted down when she heard a soft whimpering. "Did you guys hear that?"

Buzz shook his head. "I didn't hear anything."

"Wait, I think I did hear something," Bo said. She moved away from the stack of presents. "It sounded like it was coming from underneath that pile of wrapping paper."

Jessie picked up the paper and crumpled it up into a ball. She threw it at Buzz, who caught it easily and set it in a trash can. All four toys looked down to find a tiny baby doll in a tiny baby doll crib. "Itsy Bitsy Baby" was written on the opened box that was on the floor a few feet away.

"Aw, how cute," Bo said, reaching for the baby doll.

"Don't wake it, it's asleep!" Jessie exclaimed. She looked up at Buzz. "Do I have to be worried?"

"I don't think so. Let's go back to Andy's room and we can ask Woody."

"At least there was nothing mean and scary in there," Rex said solemnly. Jessie and Bo nodded their agreement. Buzz called for all the toys to exit Molly's room in an orderly fashion. He started first, with Rex behind and Bo and Jessie brought up the rear walking side by side.

"Well?" Mr. Potato Head asked, throwing up his hands.

"Nothing good," Rex informed him as he settled down to watch television with Hamm, Slink, and Wheezy.

"See that?" Woody said with a laugh. "You gals had nothing to worry about after all."

"No, I guess not," Jessie said. Buzz led her over to the space between Andy's desk and the bed and she eagerly followed, grateful for some down time now that she knew there was nothing to be anxious about. Buzz wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned closer to him. Just as he was about to give her a kiss, a loud wailing sound interrupted.

"What is that?" Woody said in disgust, pulling his hat down lower on his head and covering his ears with his hands.

"It sounds like it's coming from Molly's room!" Mr. Potato Head yelled over the wailing.

"Maybe it's the baby doll," Bo said thoughtfully.

"A baby doll?" Hamm asked, irritated. "Oh, great!"

"Well how do we make it stop?" Rex panicked.

Jessie stood up. "She's probably just nervous about her first night in a new room. I know what that's like. Maybe I can talk to her."

"Well, do it quick!" Mr. Potato Head urged.

Jessie paused only to give Buzz a quick peck on the cheek.

"No, no. There's no time for that!" Hamm shouted.

With that, Jessie left the room and headed into the unknown.


	2. Chapter 2

Buzz looked at Woody with wide eyes. It had been quite some time since the horrible crying had stopped, but Jessie still hadn't returned to Andy's room. Maybe there was a boy doll after all, and they just hadn't noticed before…

Woody glanced at Buzz and nodded once. "I'll come with you if you want," he offered.

"Good idea," Buzz replied, figuring it would be nice to have reinforcements, just in case.

Woody turned to Bo Peep. "Can you keep an eye on everyone for me while we go see what's keeping Jessie?"

"Of course," Bo said, raising her crook.

Woody smiled. "Thanks, Bo," he said with a quick kiss. He and Buzz quickly left the room and headed across the hall.

Once they were in front of the open door to Molly's room, Woody held out a hand to halt Buzz for a moment, and they both peered inside.

Jessie sat on the floor with her back against Molly's dresser. The baby doll was wrapped up in some doll blankets and her sobs had quieted to soft sniffles. Jessie was hunched over the child, cradling her in her arms and singing softly as the baby cooed with delight. The Itsy Bitsy Baby doll fit perfectly in Jessie's arms, as if it could have been her own baby…

Woody straightened up nervously. "She looks too comfortable," he whispered. "Maybe you should get out of here, Buzz. Before she sees you and gets any ideas." He turned to look at Buzz when he didn't respond.

Buzz was frozen in the doorway, watching the peaceful scene with a strange expression on his face.

"Buzz," Woody hissed. He had to kick him lightly in the shin a couple of times before he could get his friend's attention.

When Buzz finally turned to Woody he had a sort of dreamy look in his eyes and Woody could tell that he was already too far gone. "Let's get out of here," Woody whispered in one last desperate attempt to save his pal.

Buzz shook his head. "You go on ahead. I'll see if Jessie needs any help," He whispered back. With that, he walked through the doorway.

Woody rolled his eyes and groaned as he watched his friend cross over to the other side. Then he turned and made his way back to Andy's room before whatever spell Buzz was under could affect him too.

Buzz lightly walked over to where Jessie was sitting with her young companion. He sat down beside her and she smiled warmly when she saw him, raising a finger to her lips.

"She just fell asleep," Jessie whispered.

Buzz nodded. He could feel something stir inside him as he sat with the two girls, but he couldn't exactly place the feeling. After a few moments, Jessie rose and walked over to the tiny baby doll cradle. Buzz could not take his eyes off of her. He watched in awe as she expertly lowered the infant into the cradle and tucked her in gently, thinking how the scene was almost magical. "Goodnight, sweet girl," she whispered lovingly before turning to leave the room with Buzz.

"You're really good with her," Buzz murmured quietly when they got closer to the door.

Jessie looked at him through thick eyelashes and grinned widely.

"Can I walk you back to Andy's room?" He asked, and she nodded eagerly. He offered her his arm, and she slipped hers through his and held on tightly.

Buzz thought for a moment. "So… what do you want to do tonight?"

"Actually, I'm a little tired," Jessie admitted. "Taking care of a baby is a lot more work than I thought."

"Well, no one would ever know that just from watching you," Buzz said quietly. "You looked so… natural."

Jessie's cheeks grew a little warm.

"How about we just snuggle and watch a movie, then?" Buzz asked hopefully.

Jessie rewarded him with a big smile. "I'd really like that," she said, hugging his arm between both of hers and leaning her head against his shoulder.

When they reached Andy's room, Buzz placed a hand on her back and gently guided her in. All the other toys were chattering excitedly about how nice it was to finally have some peace and quiet, and nobody seemed to notice their return except for Woody, who looked at them sourly. Buzz grinned and waved at him as he led Jessie over to the bed. He popped in a dvd and settled back with Jessie in his arms.

She looked up at him with her round eyes, and Buzz could swear he saw a sparkle in them that wasn't there before. All was quiet and still now that the baby doll wasn't screaming. Jessie reached over for the fleece throw blanket that was rumpled at the foot of the bed. She wrapped Buzz up in it and settled into his embrace.

"You're really nurturing," Buzz commented, murmuring softly into her hair. "You're going to make a great mom someday."

"Do you really think so?" She asked.

"I know so," he said, his eyes never leaving hers, and she blushed slightly.

Buzz leaned over and kissed her, long and slow. When he pulled his face away a few moments later, Jessie rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. Buzz gently stroked her braid, the image of Jessie with a baby still fresh in his mind. Minutes later, Jessie's breathing had evened out and he knew she was asleep. He tightened his embrace on her and she smiled softly in her sleep. "Goodnight, sweet girl," he whispered as he gently kissed her forehead.


End file.
